Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Ransomware shame: More than half of business owners conceal cyber-breach

Ransomware shame: More than half of business owners conceal cyber-breach

The ransomware scourge may be even worse than widely believed as most business executives hide cyberattacks, a new survey says.

One-third (32%) of enterprises experienced a six-figure breach last year and well over half (61%) of business owners admitted to concealing a breach, according to the findings from a global survey of over 1,400 IT decision-makers at large organizations by cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf.

"Most incidents do not get made public. After all, not every ransomware incident spreads to, nor takes down, an entire system or company infrastructure," Ian McShane, field chief technology officer at Arctic Wolf, told FOX Business.

"Unsurprising when you think of the negative press and brand damage, let alone potential for fines or other penalties depending on the industry," McShane said.

Other results of the survey include:

--78% of C-suite executives claim that they would be willing to pay a ransom.

--56% would be willing to pay over $100,000 to resume operations.

--74% of executives with hybrid work environments believe their in-house IT and security teams lack the capability to defend against ransomware.

--60% of executives believe their employees could not identify a cyberattack.

Those results reflect the constant drumbeat of reports of successful ransomware attacks that leave executives feeling vulnerable, according to McShane.

Hacker attacking internet


The survey comes in the wake of an announcement from the Department of the Treasury that sets out a series of actions to disrupt criminal networks and virtual currency exchanges that facilitate criminal transactions.

"Ransomware and cyber-attacks are victimizing businesses large and small across America and are a direct threat to our economy. We will continue to crack down on malicious actors," said Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen in a statement.

But executives have little faith in government efforts to disrupt ransomware, the survey shows.

"Despite recent interventions into cybersecurity issues, executives lack faith in the government's ability to protect them from cyber threats," Artic Wolf said, adding that the majority of organizations (60%) believe that spending on new security tools and services is the most effective way of stopping attacks.

And executives have no faith in diplomacy either, with only 15% of U.S. executives believing that diplomacy effectively stops future cyberattacks from foreign countries, though a larger number (31%) believe retaliatory cyberattacks against foreign nations would be effective.

China (41%) and Russia (41%) are seen equally as the source of the most dangerous threats targeting their businesses.

And in separate research from cybersecurity firm Veritas Technologies, which surveyed more than 2,000 global IT leaders, respondents stated that their employers had experienced an average of 2.57 ransomware attacks that had led to downtime in the last 12 months and 14% admit to five, or more, ransomware attacks causing downtime in the last year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×